With a lineup of Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella, not since The Beatles had there been a more impressive assembly of yet-to-be all star musicians in a single group. N.W.A also did similar things for hip hop as The Beatles did for rock and roll in reaching new heights of fame and acclaim and bringing their respective genres firmly into the mainstream. Decades later, N.W.A's music remains fresh and relevant in both its sound and its ideas.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Here's 7 of my favorites from N.W.A.
Week 42: N.W.A
#288/420 - Eazy-E, “Boyz-n-the-Hood”
Originally released as an Eazy-E solo track, this was ultimately modified to become the lead single from N.W.A’s first album, N.W.A and the Posse, that launched their careers. While Eazy-E famously did not write his own verses as a rapper, this being written by Ice Cube, he was gifted in terms of delivery on a level that few could or can compete with, so it didn’t really matter. Like Elvis or Sinatra.
The opening line on the album, “cruisin' down the street in my six-four,” is one of the most iconic opening lines in rap, in my opinion. It sticks in your head and Eazy-E had just the right texture and inflection to make that happen.
Great song to blast while cruising through the neighborhood with the posse and one of the earliest examples of what came to be known as gangsta rap.
#289/420 - N.W.A, “If It Ain’t Ruff”
While MC Ren may have been the Ringo to N.W.A’s Beatles, and never reached the fame of Eazy-E, Ice Cube, or Dr. Dre, he was no slouch and this song is my favorite of his with the group. It’s got a great beat and a great pronunciation of “ruff”.
“If it ain’t ruff, it ain’t me.”
#290/420 - N.W.A, “A Bitch Iz a Bitch”
This is a funny song and Ice Cube is funny in it. Included on the “Express Yourself” single, this is one of their lesser known gems and one that I believe qualifies as comedy rap. I can’t seem to locate the credits to identify the woman who is featured in between verses going back and forth with Ice Cube, but man they are funny together.
“Why I gonna be a bitch?”
“I ain't call you no bitch. If you'd listen to the goddamn song, it'd tell you what a bitch is.”
“Fuck the song 'cause I'm not no motherfuckin' bitch.”
“I didn't say you was a bitch, if you stop acting like a goddamn bitch.”
“Fuck you, punkass little nigga!”
“Fuck you, bitch! You sloppy-ass, scandalous-ass ho!”
“Fuck you! Who the fuck you think you are?”
“Fuck you! Suck my dick, bitch! Ol' scandalous-ass, doo-doo dog-breath smoking, ugly…”
Yes, a simpler time when we could be crude and offensive and hilarious with each other. Also a good beat. Great production from N.W.A per usual.
#291/420 - N.W.A, “Fuck tha Police”
Packed with plenty of great samples, including multiples from James Brown, this is one of their most iconic, and best, songs. The production on this one is a rich tapestry that is rarely seen in a single track. It really tells a story, albeit a crude and somewhat inciting one, but one that expresses a lot of raw feeling. It’s a great song for releasing and letting out frustration with the system in a civil way, through an artform rather than actual violence, and one that can only exist with freedom of speech.
The subversion of court procedures laden with profanity and derogatory remarks ends up sounding more real than a lot of actual court transcripts and it does a nice job of integrating the skits into the song itself, rather than making it too separate as many skits on rap albums can become.
It’s definitely an all-timer, “fuck tha police!”
#292/420 - N.W.A, “Express Yourself (Extended Mix)”
One of the few N.W.A songs where Dr. Dre takes the lead, it’s also one of the most positive, least inciting songs they ever made, written for Dre by Ice Cube, who appears briefly on the track as well. Dr. Dre’s appearances on vocals have overall been few and far between over the years, but this is an excellent showcase of what makes him such a legend among rappers despite his selective output. His inflection is great on lines like, “drop English right about—now!” and the samples and backing are used very effectively, including a self-sample from another N.W.A track, “Dope Man”.
It first appeared on the album, Straight Outta Compton, but my favorite is the mix for the single.
#293/420 - N.W.A, “Straight Outta Compton (Extended Mix)”
The group’s most iconic song, which shares its name with both its respective album (first released in 1988) and the 2015 film about the group, is well-deserving of its status. My favorite version comes from the 1996 Greatest Hits extended mix, however, where effects and production on the track are further bolstered, creating an even better listening experience which ups the intensity on the deliveries from Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Eazy-E respectively. All it’s really missing is a verse from Dr. Dre, but it’s hard to knock it for this, considering how good it is.
Ice Cube’s verse at the top is really one of the best verses by any rapper in any song, and MC Ren and Eazy-E’s to follow are close behind. I can’t even begin to quote the best parts because pretty much every single line is the hardest, gangsta shit to ever be recorded, and the production behind it underlines it as well as could be.
If you still needed an introduction to N.W.A after all these years, look no further than this one. Straight outta Compton.
#294/420 - N.W.A, “100 Miles and Runnin’”
Although this track markedly no longer features Ice Cube as a member of the group, and even cuts him a little, there’s no denying that this is my absolute favorite song from N.W.A. While in the same way “Straight Outta Compton” is missing a verse from Dr. Dre, this is certainly missing a verse from Ice Cube, but nonetheless, it is such a killer track with excellent production and sampling that it doesn’t stop it from being one of my favorite rap songs of all time.
Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and Eazy-E absolutely kill it on this song, and I would say it features the best verses ever put out from each respectively. Dre shows off some seriously under-represented chops and Eazy-E has never sounded slicker.
The way Dr. Dre delivers lines like, “So fuck the P-O-L-I-C-E! And any motherfucker that disagrees. Stuck and runnin' hard, hauling ass. 'Cause I'm a nigga known for havin' a notorious past,” is just vicious, like a barking dog, yet with perfect timing.
And Eazy-E with lines like, “A 100 Miles from home and, yo, it's a long stretch. A little sprintin' motherfucker that they won't catch. Yeah, back to Compton again. Yo, it's either that or the Federal pen. 'Cause niggas been runnin' since beginning of time. Takin' a minute to tell you what's on my motherfuckin' mind,” are some of the smoothest slides from line to line any rapper has ever been able to do.
But it just builds and builds to the best N.W.A verse ever at the end starting with Dre and ending with E, “One more mile to go through the dark streets. Runnin' like a motherfucker on my own two feet. But you know I never stumble or lag last. I'm almost home so I better haul ass. Tearin' up everything in sight. It's a little crazy motherfucker dodging the searchlight. Now all that chasing shit is done and four motherfuckers goin' crazy with a 100 Miles of Runnin’!”
Amazing.
It is truly a shame that N.W.A’s story was so short, and that Ice Cube departed the group so soon, but while they were around, they really were the most formidable rap group ever assembled. Their legacy may not be as robust as many of their contemporaries, but their peaks were among the highest rap has ever seen. Always one to come back to and enjoy those 5 kids from Compton who did not give a fuck.
Next week, we travel north to San Francisco and back to the 1960s for another generation’s sound-off on injustice. Decidedly less angry and incredibly more funky, it was America’s first racially and male/female integrated rock group, Sly and the Family Stone.
420 to 30: A Music Retrospective
Week 2: The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Week 3: A Tribe Called Quest
Week 4: Weezer
Week 5: Bob Dylan
Week 6: Led Zeppelin
Week 7: 2Pac/Makaveli
Week 8: Billy Joel
Week 9: Electric Light Orchestra
Week 10: Elvis Presley
Week 11: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Week 12: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Week 13: Nirvana
Week 14: The Doors
Week 15: The Rolling Stones
Week 16: Gnarls Barkley
Week 17: Gábor Szabó
Week 18: Galaxie 500
Week 19: Simon & Garfunkel
Week 20: Gorillaz
Week 21: Ennio Morricone
Week 22: The Moody Blues
Week 23: Koji Kondo
Week 24: Rob Zombie/White Zombie
Week 25: Paul McCartney/Wings
Week 26: George Harrison
Week 27: Phil Spector
Week 28: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Week 29: Public Enemy
Week 30: The Love Language
Week 31: Barry White
Week 32: Frank Sinatra
Week 33: David Bowie
Week 34: Queen
Week 35: The Offspring
Week 36: Louis Prima
Week 37: The Notorious B.I.G.
Week 38: Nancy Sinatra
Week 39: Stevie Wonder
Week 40: Roger Miller
Week 41: Röyksopp
View the full list of "420 Songs" here: https://tinyurl.com/y8fboudu (Google spreadsheet link)